One month time to rectify NRC errors

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday clarified that all those residents of Assam whose names are not included in the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) will not be declared foreigners. Instead, home ministry officials clarified, they will get a one-month time period to submit their objections and claims in addition to seeking legal recourse.

The NRC, which is a list of residents of Assam, is to be published on July 30. Officials explained that since this would only be a draft, all residents would be given enough time and opportunity to submit their objections and claims if their names are not included in the same. These in turn would be examined by the concerned authorities over a period of one month and give adequate time to the complainants to present their case.

Only after this exercise is completed that the final list of NRC would be published. Officials claimed that any exclusion from even the final NRC does mean the person is a foreigner and one could still approach the foreigners’ tribunal in the state to get justice. As of now, there are nearly 300 foreigners’ tribunals in Assam.

The home ministry has already deployed adequate security forces in the State to assist the local administration in completing the work on NRC. Even Home Minister Rajnath Singh had on Sunday reiterated that there was no need for the residents to panic since all bona fide Indians will get appropriate chance to prove their citizenship as the NRC was being prepared in a totally impartial, transparent and meticulous manner.

The NRC, he added, was being update as part of the “Assam Accord” signed on August 15, 1985.